September is here – students have headed back to school and are hitting the books once again. Back in June of this year, Hank Vander Laan, Founder of Trojan Technologies was honored by Fanshawe College (one of the largest colleges in Ontario), with an Honorary Diploma.

The Honorary Diploma is bestowed by the College to recognize an individual’s unique and outstanding impact at a local, national, or global life. In addition, the individual’s life should have significantly enriched the lives and careers of Fanshawe College students and alumni. At the ceremonies on June 13th, 2014, Mr. Vanderlaan also served as Guest Speaker.

Video of Hank Vanderlaan’s Speech

Trojan Technologies has a rich history with Fanshawe and Mr. Vanderlaan reflected on this as well as quoted from the over 50 Fanshawe graduates currently working at Trojan.
Fanshawe President, Peter Devlin’s introduction to Hank Vanderlaan starts at 23:00 minutes, followed by Mr. Vanderlaan’s speech.

Some Highlights from Hank Vanderlaan’s Speech

“I look at this honor as a shared recognition of the global success that we at Trojan have been privileged to execute on in over 80 countries in these past three decades or so. My associates, of whom many are graduates of this institution, have allowed me to excel because of their shared vision in bringing water confidence to thousands of communities.”

“Not every placement will be the right fit the first time around. I can attest to that personally as I drifted through four or five false starts before I found my right niche. I consider this normal and is a great learning experience in itself. In fact I still have days where I wonder what I should do next even in retirement. You still always look for the next opportunity and find meaningful ways to contribute in the communities in which we are all apart. So be realistic about that as well as you take on your first assignments.”

“It should never be a discouragement if your initial start-up does not work out because every sincere effort you make gains you a wealth of experience that you can take forward.”

“I surveyed over 50 Fanshawe graduates currently working with us here in London at Trojan Technologies and asked them to help me to provide feedback to you – today’s graduates… So allow me to quote extensively from their perspective.”

From – Senada, a Trojan Technologies employee and Fanshawe Grad: “I find working at Trojan to be exciting and rewarding. Here in engineering everyone has an opportunity to learn and explore and be part of technology evolving.”

From Gary,a Trojan Technologies employee and Fanshawe Grad:
“My education at Fanshawe and my co-op positions became the foundation of my career. I built on this base with programs at Trojan in leadership, management, lean process development as well as on the job training. Technical skills are only one part of career development – a strong work ethic and effective people skills are critical in a global team-oriented environment. I’ve had the opportunity to travel globally and to develop opportunities literally around the world that have opened my eyes to the global world of engineering.”

“Let me sum up with my own observation from my experience over these last 35 years of my career. Success can be very elusive if you strictly focus on a narrow dimension of life, because that’s not the way that humanity is wired up. Technology is important, especially in this ever faster world – as graduates will be challenged to think more broadly than this. Companies simply stated are a collection of people, with similar objectives, charged with a responsibility of seeking a common good and by doing so will find success by serving their customers with excellence.”

“This is where you come in… Be the best you can be – nothing less will be expected of you. Use your talents and gifts to be agents of change for the better. Lead by example. Care deeply for your work associates, your families, your partners, husbands and wives. Be creative in not only your area of expertise, but more broadly become a problem solver in multiple levels and so you will reach a pinnacle of a great career.”

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